Acquiring Minds Family Offices for Searchers: A Primer
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Sep 25, 2025 James Bohannon, Senior Vice President at Belzberg & Co., sheds light on family offices—private wealth management vehicles for families. He explains their structure, highlighting how they offer unique advantages to searchers and independent sponsors. Discover the importance of relationships for accessing family office capital, the preference for long-term investments, and the collaborative nature of family office investing. Bohannon also discusses the balance between flexibility and decision-making speed within these entities, making them appealing partners in the private market landscape.
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Defense Versus Offense In Family Offices
- Family offices balance defense (filtering inbound pitches) with occasional offense when they set proactive mandates.
- Their investment posture depends heavily on the principal's preferences and risk appetite.
Why Size Changes The Office Model
- A true family office usually starts ~ $100M AUM because that justifies a small in-house team and operating budget.
- Larger offices resemble endowments with dedicated teams across strategy verticals and significant direct-check capacity.
Check Size Depends On Deployment Pace
- Check sizes correlate with deployment targets and liquidity rather than raw AUM; many families set a minimum like $10M per direct.
- Large family offices may still run small-check sleeves for early relationships or platform building.
